Story byNASCAR’s New Championship Format: Consistency Rules David Jensen - Getty ImagesMike HembreeTue, January 13, 2026 at 2:23 AM UTC·3 min readWelcome to the race for consistency.“Consistent” was the word of the moment Monday afternoon as NASCAR unveiled its new championship format, one that will begin with the Daytona 500 next month. Although the sport isn’t returning to the 36-race points format that determined the Cup Series champion for decades, a concept many fans appeared to lust for, the “hybrid” system that was revealed Monday leans heavily on the idea of producing consistent runs every week. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe playoffs are gone. So is the “win and you’re in” plan that automatically advanced drivers to the end-of-season championship competition after they posted race victories. Now it’s back to the Chase, or, in this case, a renovation of sorts of the championship “Chase” system NASCAR used from 2004 to 2013. The top 16 drivers in points after the 26-race regular season will move into the Chase round—remember, don’t say playoffs—in pursuit of the championship. Also gone is the four-round run through the final 10 races and the elimination of drivers at the end of those rounds.